The CITU district committee has decried the Central government’s move of disinvestment of public sector units and giving away valuable lands belonging to the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) to the POSCO “under the garb of establishing a joint venture”.
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At the two-day convention of the CITU district unit that concluded at Anakapalle on Monday, the trade union leaders resolved to launch an agitation against the disinvestment of PSUs. “The strategic disinvestment of 51% stake of the government in the NTPC has been proposed. The Centre has already offloaded 44% government equity in the BHEL, a Maharatna company. Now, a proposal is under consideration to give away 3,000 acres of RINL land to the POSCO,” said CITU State president Ch. Narsinga Rao.
Cheap labour
Referring to the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Mr. Rao said 1,000 acres of land was leased out to Brandix India Apparel City at ₹10,000 rental per year, with the promise that 60,000 jobs would be created. “The workers are given a monthly salary of ₹6,000 to ₹7,000. In the units located at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City, the workers’ wages is very less,” he said.
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Citing the example of Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, Mr. Rao said the wages being given to contract workers was less. He demanded the constitution of Minimum Wages Board to expedite the wage revision of the workers engaged in various industries.